Russian Law Allows High Court To Reject International Court Verdicts

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law that will allow the country's Constitutional Court to decide whether to enforce verdicts against Moscow that are made by interstate courts, such as the European Court of Human Rights.

Putin signed the law -- which was recently passed by the State Duma and the Federation Council -- on December 15.

The law states that Russia's Constitutional Court should be guided by the principle of "the supremacy and the supreme legal force of the Russian Constitution" when determining if Russia, Russians, or Russian entities should comply with a judgment made by an international court.

The law is seen as a response to the Russian government's having lost several high-profile cases brought against it at international courts.

The new legislation also establishes the order and the procedure for processing an inquiry to the court.

The law grants the Russian president and government the right to submit such inquiries on international court verdicts to Russia's Constitutional Court.